Wellbeing in Retail

In a UK industry-first, seven leading retailers have joined together in an effort to improve the mental wellbeing of staff, with the help of Samaritans.

Funded by the John Lewis Partnership, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, ASOS, the Co-op, Marks & Spencer and NEXT and developed with the expertise of Samaritans, Wellbeing in Retail aims to aid the 2.9 million people that work in retail.

The guide will help retail workers look after their own mental health, give advice on how to support others who may be struggling and signpost where to go for extra help.

Retail is the largest private sector employer in the UK and the development of this website was inspired by joint research from the John Lewis Partnership, Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Next, which revealed that;

  • Over 50% of the 2,000 retail workers questioned could not recognise the signs of someone needing emotional support;
  • Around 25% would not feel confident approaching an upset colleague.
Group of retailers join together to launch mental health support for retail workers.jpg

The Wellbeing in Retail website features practical information and suggestions, activities and resources that can be accessed whenever and however workers need it and is accessible via desktop, phone or tablet. Tools such as breathing techniques, the Samaritans listening wheel, mood barometer, films from mental health experts and case studies are available.

Ruth Sutherland, Chief Executive of the Samaritans said: “It’s so encouraging to see retailers come together like this for the first time in the interest of improving their staff’s mental health. Over recent years, we have seen a real step change in the attitudes and behaviours of employers as they actively seek to address how they can improve wellbeing in the workplace and we are proud to be part of making this transition happen.”

Get in touch

Find out how your retail organisation can benefit from Wellbeing in Retail, please contact [email protected].

The Lord Mayor's Appeal

The launch of the Wellbeing in Retail tool complements Samaritans’ Wellbeing in the Workplace online learning programme which was launched in 2018 initially for City workers with the help of The Lord Mayor’s Appeal and has been successfully rolled out to over 800 organisations. The programme brought Samaritans’ listening and wellbeing expertise into the workplace to equip employees with the skills to look after their emotional health and look out for others.